It was not worthy of being a footnote,
much less a sound bite. When Pope
Benedict XVI spoke in Germany on
September 12 to some 1,500 members
of the academic community at the University
of Regensburg where he once
taught, it was to bring together reason
and faith and to promote “the dialogue
of cultures.” But someone mistook the
pope’s citing the provocative arguments
of a Byzantine emperor in 1391 as his
own—and the Church’s—current opinion.
If ever there was a case of taking
something out of context, this was it.

This wide-ranging dialogue of Emperor
Manuel II Paleologus and the Persian
Mouterizes in Ankara had touched
on jihad, the holy war, and why spreading
the faith by force is unreasonable.
Not acting according to reason is contrary
to the nature of God, argued Paleologus:
God “is not pleased by blood....To convince a reasonable soul, one does
not need a strong arm, or weapons of
any kind, or any other means of threatening
a person with death....”

In this, the pope was agreeing with
Paleologus. But unfortunately he also repeated
the emperor’s polemic challenge
to his debate opponent: “Show me just
what Muhammad brought that was new,
and there you will find things only evil
and inhuman, such as his command to
spread by the sword the faith preached.”

The suggestion that their revered Prophet
promoted “things only evil and inhuman”
sparked outrage in Muslims
around the world. They had pounced on
a bad translation of the pope’s German
original, one which had omitted his disclaimer
that he found these words had
“a startling brusqueness, a brusqueness
which leaves us astounded.”

Words and exact meanings do matter,
as was shown when the reaction to the
pope’s speech spiraled out of control.
Benedict was burned in effigy in several
Muslim countries. Morocco and
Egypt recalled their ambassadors to the
Vatican. Pakistan’s President Pervez
Musharraf, speaking at the United
Nations, called for legislation against
“defamation of Islam.” Seven churches
in the West Bank and Gaza were
attacked. An elderly Italian nun was
shot in Somalia.

Pope Benedict XVI was floored by the
worldwide reaction and said he was
“deeply sorry” that his remarks had
been misunderstood. On September
25, he met at Castel Gandolfo with
ambassadors from 22 predominantly
Muslim countries and 10 other Islamic
representatives based in Italy. Pope
Benedict expressed his deep respect for
Muslims, pledged to continue religious
dialogue and repeated his fervent wish
that Islamic and Christian leaders cooperate
in curbing violence.

Remember it was Cardinal Ratzinger
(now Pope Benedict) who had joined
Pope John Paul II’s Day of Pardon
prayer service on the first Sunday of
Lent 2000, requesting pardon for sins
committed by the Church in the service
of truth, specifically intolerance against
followers of other religions.

Forgotten in all the brouhaha was
the fact that the pope agreed with
Paleologus that violence is ill-used to
extend faith—or to create respect for it.

What is it about religion that so inflames
people? The Regensburg speech
came on the heels of the fifth anniversary
of the 9/11 attacks. Reportedly,
the terrorists had shouted that they
were doing this “for Allah.”

A PBS Frontline show, “Faith and
Doubt at Ground Zero: The Question of
Religion,” explored the role of religion
in helping people cope with the losses
of 9/11, but also in provoking the attacks,
what can be called the “shadow
side” of religion.

Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete, a former professor
of theology at St. Joseph’s Seminary
in Yonkers, New York, was one of
those interviewed for the program. He
said: “From the first moment I looked
into that horror on September 11, into
that fireball, into that explosion of horror,
I knew it. I knew it before anything
was said about those who did it or
why....I recognized religion.

“Look, I am a priest for over 30 years.
Religion is my life, it’s my vocation....
And I know, and recognized that day,
that the same force, energy, sense,
instinct, whatever, passion—because
religion can be a passion—the same
passion that motivates religious people
to do great things is the same one that
that day brought all that destruction....

Msgr. Albacete now thinks, “[W]e
have a religious duty to face this ambivalence
about religion, and to do
something about it. To promote that
which makes it a constructive force
and... [not] a destructive force....”

We have to start by seeing the two
edges in ourselves, not just in Muslims.
Jesus knew this power of religion. In his
commissioning speech to the Twelve,
the Prince of Peace shocked them by
saying, “I have come to bring not peace
but the sword” (Matthew 10:34-36).
But he also rebuked them when they
proposed calling down fire from
heaven to consume anyone who did
not welcome them (Luke 9:54-55).

Jesus’ coming ignited the tinderbox
of religion. But Pope Benedict knows
that what began in the stable in Bethlehem
must not end in hatred. After all,
Jesus came to remind us of God’s love
for us. And that means for all of us—including Muslims.—B.B.